Rings are popular items of jewelry which have been worn by women and men for centuries. Generally rings are made out of a solid metal material. The most common form of a ring constitutes a simple metallic band, often of gold or silver alloy, fitted for the wearer's finger. More elaborate rings have been made to contain precious or semi-precious gems, engravings and so forth.
Rings containing elaborate designs and precious or semi-precious gems of a relatively large carat weight are very desirable, yet expensive and therefore have been objects of numerous robberies. Robbers, who see large ornate rings, actually approach the wearer and threaten violence unless the wearer removes the ring and gives it to the robber. Consequently, many jewelry and ring wearers when they are in the public streets or in a less secure environment, tend to turn their expensive rings 180.degree. around on their finger to hide the expensive design and/or gem from view of a would-be-robber. However, an observant viewer would notice that the opposite or now-exposed side of the ring looks like the rear portion of a more ornate ring. Stated another way, the forward projected, yet rotated back of an ornate ring or a ring with a large gem looks exactly like the back of an ornate ring or one with a large gem. No one, certainly not a sophisticated robber, is fooled. The front of an ornate or gem-bearing ring is wide to support the gem. The sides of an ornate ring are usually tapered toward the back to provide for more comfortable wear. When the ring is turned, the tapering makes it obvious that the ring was turned around on the finger. As a result, instead of providing more security to the wearer, the above manipulations attract unwanted attention by alerting the potential robber that there may be a large gem on the hidden side of the ring that is worth hiding.
Rings can be divided into four segments, i) the prominent design segment; ii) two sides which usually taper down from the design segment and iii) the rear or palm-facing segment. Some rings, of course, have fanciful designs which extend from the design segment to the sides, even all the way around to the palm facing segment. However, extending gems and/or ornate design around the entire ring can be expensive. Presently available jewelry ring constructions with large gems or prominent designs on the design segment generally do not have many gems or design on the palm facing segment because such a design typically would not be observed by an outside viewer, thus "wasting" the expense. However, there are numbers of people, usually called "expressive" talkers, who enhance their speech with hand gestures. "Expressive" talkers frequently show the inside or palms of their hands while talking, and many of them would prefer to wear rings that could show some design or artistic appeal during conversations, instead of the mere plain, palm facing segment of the ring and, yet, in addition to the traditional outwardly facing design segment.
Additionally, the ability of the wearer to be in contact with the gemstone itself is important for people who believe in the healing power of gems, know as "crystal healing." Traditional designs do not allow for such contact unless the ring is rotated until the prominent design segment is located inside the wearer's palm. The rear or palm-facing segment, which typically lacks any ornamentation, is then displayed to a viewer.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for ring constructions that would allow a wearer to conceal an expensive design of the prominent design segment of the ring (to avoid robberies, for example) while not raising suspicions of potential robbers. There is also an interest in the art for a construction which can allow wearers to display a less prominent design, on the palm facing side, while showing the inside of their hands, while also maintaining the large gem or design on the outside facing segment.